Ask HN: B2B startup originated from a Reddit post – what launch/growth strategy?

6 points by federiconitidi 6 years ago | 2 comments

As the title says I’ve been working for about a month on a SaaS startup project that pretty much originated from a Reddit post that went viral. A bit of context: A few months ago I started working on a python algorithm that takes people data (linkedin & other sources) and turns them into organizational charts (example: https://i.ibb.co/swCt7Z6/image.png). I coded this for an organizational research class, but I though that it could potentially be useful in business too, to understand clients' organization and/or for organizational benchmarking. I shared the project on the r/consulting sub (link below) and it got a great response, with 450+ upvotes and lots of comments. This really positive reaction inspired me to get to work and build out the product.

Now that the product is testable (I have about 100 users on the beta, mostly from Reddit) I’m wondering about distribution next steps. I’ve been thinking about a launching on PH, perhaps share the project on Reddit and maybe also create some youtube videos to demo the product and build some audience over time.

What would you recommend for a launch/ growth strategy at this early stage?

Thanks so much for your inputs!

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/consulting/comments/gc5pqo/python_script_to_turn_linkedin_into_an/

Test the beta: https://buildorgchart.herokuapp.com/signup

frompdx 5 years ago |

I think this is a neat idea and is very useful for any type of sales planning. This isn't so much growth advice as survival advice. You should read LinkedIn's terms of service very carefully to determine if your product is compliant. LinkedIn makes it very difficult to scrape their site and their TOS states pretty clearly that combining LinkedIn data from their developer/partner API is a no-no. As far as I can tell, apps that use the LinkedIn APIs are really supposed to enhance the LinkedIn experience for users rather than enhancing the experience of other products.

I can't remember the specifics of the app I thought I wanted to build that would use LinkedIn's data, but I remember being turned off from the idea after reading their TOS.

This might not apply to your product but it's something to be aware of.

ryanchants 5 years ago |

Couple small notes.

Do not link people to the sign up page. I almost closed the tab and walked away completely. But I deleted the "/signup" from the end to see what the landing page looked like.

Spellcheck the site, your main page has "Pintpoint"

I would have some kind of mock-up of what the functionality is at a high level on the main landing page. Right now you're doing all of the selling yourself. Let the site self itself so when your uses forward it to other users they are more likely to signup.